


Deal

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 05:07:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8652154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Joe sees it before he feels it, looks down to see a dark plume of red spreading out from the centre of his chest.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Theme : senses   
> Prompt :The Flash, Caitlin Snow/Joe West, He sees it before he feels it.  
> http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/770802.html?thread=100865266#t100865266

Joe sees it before he feels it, looks down to see a dark plume of red spreading out from the centre of his chest. There's a horrible scream and he recognises Iris's voice and he wants to tell her that she shouldn't worry, that he's fine, that he can't feel a thing. 

But then the pain starts to radiate out from the red and his fingers go numb, his gun falling from them and making a clattering sound against the ground. His knees are the next to go, crumpling under his own weight and he feels himself start to fall. 

The ground is cold and hard beneath him and Iris is at his side and he didn't know she could move that fast. She pushes his jacket aside, eyes widening in horror at whatever she sees there, tears streaming down her face. "Daddy..." She sounds terrified and he tries to reach up a hand to reassure her but he can't make his arm move. 

"I'm ok, baby," he tells her, or tries to, but he coughs halfway through, a coppery tang coating his tongue and Iris shakes her head. 

"Don't speak, OK? We're gonna get you to a hospital..." Except they both know there's not enough time for that and he tries to smile, tries to tell her that he loves her, but before he can, there's another voice at his side. 

Caitlin utters a word that he's never heard her use before and he wants to chide her for her language but he can't speak. "Stay with me," she says as a hand runs down his cheek, her brow creasing in a frown as she looks down at his chest. Worry and fear flare bright in her eyes and then her eyes just glow bright white, and she lifts one hand, lays it on his chest. "This might hurt," she says and there's a strange sensation, cold creeping along his body and he wonders if this is what dying feels like. 

When the world goes black around him, he's sure it is.

But the next thing he knows, there's a beeping in his ear and an antiseptic smell in his nostrils and when he opens his eyes, he finds himself in what's obviously a hospital room. Iris is sitting in a chair beside his bed and when she sees his eyes open, she bursts into tears, hugs him hard and calls for Caitlin when she lifts her head from his chest. Before Caitlin gets there though, there's a commotion and doctors and nurses appear all around him, checking his vitals and reading machines, pushing Iris out of the way as they do their thing. 

When the madness has dissipated and it's just the three of them, his eyes meet Caitlin's and he's pleased to see that they're their usual shade of brown, even more pleased to see that she's smiling. 

"What happened?" he asks, surprised by how hoarse his voice is. Caitlin frowns as she reaches down, pulls at a bandage on his chest. It hurts a little and she looks guilty when he hisses in pain. 

"You got shot," she tells him, a hint of asperity creeping into her tone. "Please don't do that again." 

He remembers the wound, the blood. "How did you..."

Caitlin blushes and Iris answers the question. "Caitlin froze the wound." His hand moves to his chest, intending to feel the bandage but Caitlin's hand is still there or thereabouts and his hand lands on top of hers instead. His fingers close around hers, squeeze and she sucks in a shuddering breath. Iris's eyes flick between them and, for once, she doesn't look upset or disgusted. "That gave Barry time to get to you, get you here... the surgeons didn't know what to make of you but they managed to fix you up properly." She glances at her watch, rubs her eyes. "That was a week ago." 

Joe feels cold all over at how close a call it was, and he can see the strain of the last few days written on both women's faces. "You saved my life," he tells Caitlin and she dips her head. He can see her throat working furiously as she swallows and Iris grins as she wraps an arm around her shoulders. 

"Yes, she did." She pulls Caitlin into a one-armed hug before dropping her arm, leaning down to give Joe a kiss on the cheek. "I'm gonna go tell Barry and Wally you're awake, they've been outside because they'll only let us in two at a time... Besides, I think the two of you need some time alone." 

With that, she's gone, leaving Caitlin standing looking down at him. He tugs at her hand gently and she takes the hint, sits down on his bed. He runs his free hand up her arm, frowns when he feels her trembling. "You saved my life," he tells her again and she huffs out a breath. 

"I thought I'd lost you," she tells him quietly. "There was so much blood..." She shudders. "If it weren't for my powers..."

He shushes her, his hand going around the back of her neck, pulling her down so he can kiss her. He holds her there until he tastes the salt of her tears and when he pulls back, he wipes those tears away. "Thank you doesn't seem enough," he tells her and she actually giggles. 

"Just never do it again, we'll call it even." She kisses him again then, brief and chaste, rests her forehead against his and he doesn't even think about his answer. 

"Sweetheart, you've got a deal."


End file.
